Country Music

Country music has so many meanings behind it, and I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if I hadn’t ever listened to it. I know that people say that a lot about all types of music, but to me, country is different than all of the genres.  I can relate to country music in more ways than just through the lyrics, but through experiences I’ve been through with it.

My dad was born and raised up north, so we used to visit my grandparents a few times a year at their home up in Duelem, Minnesota. I remember when I was little, my dad would always play country music in his big white truck while we drove to see my grandparents. Whenever we pulled down the old dirt road, I knew we were almost there. The little white house with the huge yard and garden in the back was the indication that we had arrived. When we got inside, there was always the smell of the meal grandma was preparing – it was a rule that you couldn’t leave the house anything less than stuffed.

                My cousins and I would go out in the backyard and run around and play many games, while also looking at the huge garage where my grandpa stored his beloved tractors; John Deere, to be exact. He would tell us stories about them as he was half asleep, but eventually wake up from his cat nap and take us on rides. The smell of the tractor running while mixed with the country air was just so satisfying. I deep down that I’ve always been a country girl at heart.

                The days would come to an end and it was time to say our goodbyes. I didn’t get to see my grandparents very often, so it was always a bitter sweet moment walking out the door. But, the hardest time walking out of that door was when the house was sold after my grandpa passed away. After pulling away in the truck, headed back down the dirt road, with tears in my eyes, the country radio station would come on and I would venture back to the city with only memories left.

                I feel as though country music has filled the place in my heart of truly being a country girl. Although I can’t live in the country, I can always listen to the music that reminds me of the sights, smells, tractors, and feeling that I got when I was up there. I can listen to country music and feel my grandpa stopping by to say “hi” from heaven, as well as listen to the songs about all of the other angels up there with him.  I can listen to something completely opposite of that- something about love or about friendship.  Either way, country music has a song for my mood.  I know that other types of music give people the same type of feelings, but the type that gives me that “feeling” just so happens to be country music, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

College life

Overall, college has actually been nothing that I expected it to be. During my senior year of high school and all through summer, I had expected to be able to continue to play hockey, have a roommate who would later become a very good friend (or best friend) of mine, and become very good friends with the people in my hallway/dorm to the extent of being able to find an apartment and rent it with them the following year. Along with making friendships I had also expected to be a lot more motivated to complete my classes and just generally be more happy.
Sadly, none of this happened. The complete opposite happened, actually. I ended up not continuing with hockey. I missed the information being sent outs for the club team, which lead to me missing the try outs.
My room situation was the least bit enjoyable. I got stuck on the Saint Paul campus, with all of my classes on East Bank. My roommate also was not what I expected. She ended up posting very bad things about me on the internet (thinking I couldn’t see them), and then using my stuff without permission. It got to the point of me moving to a new room down the hall, with a roommate who is much better than the last. I don’t talk to anyone in my dorm besides my new roommate, because my old roommate is already friends with most people in the hallway.
First semester I had very hard classes. I got to the point where I didn’t really have any motivation to do any of them, because I felt like I was too dumb to complete them. Another road block was that in the middle of the semester I was told that I had to have surgery, and was out of classes for two weeks. After I came back from surgery, my boyfriend got shingles and I was trying to take care of him like he had taken care of me after surgery. I fell behind and felt as though I couldn’t make everything up in time for the end of the semester. Luckily, I ended up passing my classes.
This semester has been a bit better, but I still have had a lot more challenges than I would have liked. Even though I have had a lot of challenges, I have gotten the opportunity to volunteer every Friday with elementary school kids in my hometown. They remind me of my goal to become a teacher and keep me motivated. They are such great kids to work with, and really brighten my week.
Other than volunteering and hanging out with my boyfriend, nothing has really been amazing out of my college experience. Although I’m disappointed with my first year experience here at the U, I’m going to continue my education here next year and hope for the best.
My mom has really kept me positive throughout this whole thing. She has been my rock and I couldn’t have asked for a better support system. She has taught me that not everything is going to be bad forever. :)

Babies, babies, babies! Teens are growing up too fast.

Lately, it feels like my friends have been getting ahead of themselves- they’re rushing into everything. I have three friends pregnant (Shelby, Chloe, Chrissy), and another one that had her baby about a year ago (Jessa).  All four of the girls have been my friends since my freshman year of high school, but Jessa is two years younger than I am. Shelby, Chloe and Chrissy are all my age, and Chrissy and Shelby used to be my very best friends through freshman and sophomore year of high school.  After sophomore year, that all changed. Shelby and I got into a huge fight and Chrissy and I just seemed to drift apart, and I met Chloe through hockey and we began to talk.

The summer after junior year, Chrissy and I started to become close again. My senior year of high school rolled around, Chloe wasn’t playing hockey, and I found out that my friend Jessa, who was a sophomore at the time, was pregnant. She ended up having to quit hockey (which is how we met), but we saw each other quite often, because we would go get coffee and just talk about how everything was going. Her beautiful baby Ella was born around May of 2011.

Around the same time, Shelby and I started to work things out and put everything behind us, and Chrissy dropped out of school and didn’t really talk to anyone anymore, and nobody really knew why. This past summer Shelby and I became closer friends again, and we continued to visit Jessa and her baby. But, in August, I found out that Shelby was pregnant. Her boyfriend, Pat, was leaving for basic training for the National Guard about a month after we all found out, and that’s where everything seemed to change.

I went off to college along with a few of my other friends, and Shelby was stuck at home. As if that wasn’t enough change to handle at once, a couple months into this school year, I found out that Chloe and Chrissy were pregnant. I hadn’t really talked to either of them much before that, but it was still surprising to find out the news about both of them. As this year has been rolling along, I’ve met up with Chrissy to talk a few times, hung out with Shelby several times, and tried my best to be there for both of them.

Winter break came around, Pat came home from basic for two weeks, and the whole group got together to hang out, even though it was still hard to believe that there would be another member to the group in just a couple months. On New Year’s day, I woke up to find out that now Shelby and Pat are engaged. And honestly, I believe the only reason that they did this so early is because they're going to have a kid- which is for ALL of the wrong reasons.

After all of that has happened in the past year or so, I find myself thinking a lot- Where did the time go? Why is everyone rushing into everything so quickly—babies, engagement, moving out of their homes!? I haven’t even gotten through my freshman year of college and I’m wondering what’s going to happen when I have kids when I get older- they’re going to be so young and some of my friends kids are going to already be in school. I could be their elementary school teacher! Life sure is a crazy thing to think about, but I just wish that some of my friends would really think about what they’re doing, before they do all of it- even though with most of it, it’s too late to think about.  Where did the idea of going to college, getting your degree, getting a job, buying a house, getting married, THEN having a baby go!? I like that idea much better than the one that I’ve been seeing lately.